Semiconductor packaging structure having antenna module

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor packaging structure having an antenna module, comprising: a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a redistribution layer located on the first surface of the substrate; a metal bump located on one side, insulated from the substrate, of the redistribution layer, and electrically connected with the redistribution layer; a semiconductor chip disposed on a surface, insulated from the substrate, of the redistribution layer, and electrically connected with the redistribution layer, a space is configured between the semiconductor chip and the metal bump; and an antenna module located on the second surface of the substrate.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. CN2017216860384, entitled “Semiconductor PackagingStructure Having Antenna Module”, filed with SIPO on Dec. 7, 2017, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of semiconductorpackaging, and in particular, to a semiconductor packaging structurehaving an antenna module.

BACKGROUND

With the increasing of function, performance and integration ofintegrated circuits, and the emergence of new integrated circuits,packaging technology plays an increasingly important role in integratedcircuit products, and amounts for an increasing proportion in the valueof the entire electronic system. At the same time, with thecharacteristic size of integrated circuits reaching a nanometer level,transistors are developing towards higher density and higher clockfrequency, and packaging is also developing towards higher density.

Fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) technology has the advantages ofminiaturization, low cost and high integration, as well as betterperformance and higher energy efficiency. It has become an importantpackaging method for electronic devices such as those used inhigh-requirement mobile/wireless networks, and it is one of the mostpromising packaging technologies at present. In addition, for theconsideration of communication effect, radio frequency chips are alwaysprovided with antennas in use. However, most of the existing radiofrequency antennas are laid out directly on the PCB during layout designfor radio frequency function modules or interfaces for external antennasare reserved during layout design. In order to ensure the antenna gain,this method must be at the expense of the PCB area. In addition, it isdifficult to control the warpage of fan-out wafer level packaging byadopting processes such as plastic packaging, the warpage situation isdifficult to be alleviated, material shrinkage or swelling which maycause problems such as slippage and dislocation in the packaging processis also difficult to control, the heat conductivity is poor, and theproblems such as heat effect may be caused.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a low-cost semiconductor packagingstructure having antennas to solve the warpage problems that easilyoccur and the overheating effect caused by poor heat conductivity.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor packaging structurehaving an antenna module, comprising: a substrate having a first surfaceand a second surface opposite to the first surface; a redistributionlayer located on the first surface of the substrate; a metal bumplocated on one side, insulated from the substrate, of the redistributionlayer, and electrically connected with the redistribution layer; asemiconductor chip disposed on and electrically connected with theredistribution layer, wherein a spacing is configured between thesemiconductor chip and the metal bump; and an antenna module located onthe second surface of the substrate.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the semiconductorpackaging structure further comprises an underfill layer, and theunderfill layer fully fills a gap between the semiconductor chip and theredistribution layer.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the substratecomprises a quartz glass substrate or a sapphire substrate.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the redistributionlayer specifically comprises: a dielectric layer bonded to the firstsurface of the substrate; one metal wire layer located inside thedielectric layer; and an under-bump metal layer located on a surface,insulated from the substrate, of the dielectric layer, extending to theinside of the dielectric layer and electrically connected with the metalwire layer, wherein the metal bump is provided on the under-bump metallayer.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the metal bumpcomprises: a copper pole, a nickel layer located on an upper surface ofthe copper pole and a solder bump located on the nickel layer.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the antenna modulecomprises a plurality of antenna units and each antenna unit has a sameouter contour.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the antenna units arearranged in an array, arranged in a ring shape or irregularly arrangedon the second surface of the substrate.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the antenna units arearranged in a hexagonal honeycomb shape on the second surface of thesubstrate, and each of the antenna units is disposed with a space fromadjacent antenna units.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the shape of thecross section, along the surface of the substrate, of the antenna unitscomprises a hexagonal shape.

As a preferred solution of the present disclosure, the antenna modulecomprises at least two layers of antenna module units, and each layer ofthe antenna module units at least comprises one antenna unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross sectional view of a substrate.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view after a redistribution layeris formed in preparation of a semiconductor packaging structureaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross sectional view after a metal bump is formedduring preparation of a semiconductor packaging structure according tothe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross sectional view after a semiconductor chip isformed in preparation of a semiconductor packaging structure accordingto the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross sectional view after an underfill layer isformed in preparation of a semiconductor packaging structure accordingto the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross sectional view after an antenna module isformed in preparation of a semiconductor packaging structure accordingto the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of the semiconductor packaging structurehaving an antenna module according to method disclosed from FIGS. 1-6.

DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENT REFERENCE SIGNS

-   -   11 Substrate    -   111 First surface    -   112 Second surface    -   21 Redistribution layer    -   211 Under-bump metal layer    -   212 Dielectric layer    -   213 Metal wire layer    -   31 Metal bump    -   41 Semiconductor chip    -   51 Underfill layer    -   61 Antenna module    -   611 Antenna unit

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The implementation modes of the present disclosure will be describedbelow through specific embodiments. One skilled in the art can easilyunderstand other advantages and effects of the present disclosureaccording to content disclosed in the description.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7. It shall be noted that the structures,scales, sizes and the like illustrated in the drawings of thedescription are only used for cooperating with the contents disclosed inthe description to allow one skilled in the art to understand and readinstead of limiting the implementable limitation conditions of thepresent disclosure, and thus have no technical substantive meanings; andany structural modifications, changes of scaling relations oradjustments to sizes shall still fall into the scope which can becovered by the technical contents disclosed by the present disclosureunder the situation that the effects which can be produced by thepresent disclosure and the purposes which can be achieved by the presentdisclosure are not influenced. In addition, words such as “above”,“below”, “left”, “right”, “middle” and “one” cited in the descriptionare just used for facilitating clear description instead of limiting theimplementable scope of the present disclosure. Changes or adjustments ofrelative relations thereof shall also be deemed as the implementablescope of the present disclosure under the situation that the technicalcontents are not substantively changed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-7, the present disclosure provides asemiconductor packaging structure having an antenna module, comprising:

a substrate 11 having a first surface 111 and a second surface oppositeto the first surface 112;a redistribution layer 21 located on the first surface 111 of thesubstrate 11;a metal bump 31 located on one side, insulated from the substrate 11, ofthe redistribution layer 21, and electrically connected with theredistribution layer 21;a semiconductor chip 41 located on a surface of one side, insulated fromthe substrate 11, of the redistribution layer 21, and electricallyconnected with the redistribution layer 21, wherein a spacing is betweenthe semiconductor chip 41 and the metal bump 31; andan antenna module 61 located on the second surface 112 of the substrate11.

As an example, the substrate 11 comprises a quartz glass substrate or asapphire substrate.

Specifically, the present disclosure provides a semiconductor packagingstructure, wherein the substrate 11 is preferably a quartz substrate ora sapphire substrate. On the one hand, since the quartz sheet has nowarping problem, the semiconductor chip can be prevented from beingbroken, warped and cracked in the subsequent preparation process; on theother hand, quartz has good heat conductivity, which is ten to hundredtimes better than that of MC, thus the problem of heat effect in thepackaging process will be solved. In addition, in other examples, thesubstrate may also be any other glass substrates, which are notspecifically limited here.

The shape of the substrate 11 may be set according to actual needs. Theshape of the substrate 11 may be a rectangular shape, a circular shape,a hexagonal shape, a triangular shape, a trapezoidal shape or the like,which is not limited here.

Specifically, the semiconductor chip 41 may be any kind of semiconductorfunctional chip, a connection pad electrically leading out its internalfunctional devices is further formed on the front surface of thesemiconductor chip 41, the connection pad is exposed to the frontsurface of the semiconductor chip, and preferably, an upper surface ofthe connection pad is leveled with the upper surface of thesemiconductor. The spacing between the semiconductor chip 41 and themetal bump 31 refers to the semiconductor chip is spaced with the metalbump at a position that protrudes out of the metal wiring layer on thesurface, insulated from the substrate, of the metal wiring layer, i.e.,the exposed exterior part is not conductive.

In addition, since structures such as the antenna module, theredistribution layer, the metal bump and the semiconductor chip areprovided on two opposite side surfaces of the substrate in the presentdisclosure, reasonable design of the antenna structure can be performed,which will facilitate the decrease of the volume of the entiresemiconductor packaging structure.

As an example, the semiconductor packaging structure further comprisesan underfill layer 51, and the underfill layer 51 fully fills the gapbetween the semiconductor chip 41 and the redistribution layer 21.

Specifically, the underfill layer 51 is filled between the semiconductorchip 41 and the adjacent redistribution layer 21, and completely coversthe surface, close to the redistribution layer 21, of the semiconductorchip 41. Preferably, the underfill layer 51 exceeds the surface of thesemiconductor chip and extends to the periphery of the metal bump on thetwo sides of the semiconductor chip, the material of the underfill layer51 includes filling adhesive, the underfill layer 51 can protect theadhesion force and stability of the semiconductor chip in the process,can further alleviate the problem of stress concentration at the edgeand the apex of the semiconductor chip, and can prevent thesemiconductor chip from being broken, and thus improving the packagingreliability.

As an example, the structure of the redistribution layer 21 specificallycomprises:

a dielectric layer 212 bonded to the first surface 111 of the substrate;at least one metal wire layer 213 located inside the dielectric layer212; andan under-bump metal layer 211 located on a surface, insulated from thesubstrate 11, of the dielectric layer 212, extending to the inside ofthe dielectric layer 212 and electrically connected with the metal wirelayer 213, wherein the metal bump 31 is provided on the under-bump metallayer 211.

Specifically, in one example, the redistribution layer 21 comprises ametal wire layer 213, a dielectric layer 212, and an under-bump metallayer 211. In one example, the fabrication process thereof comprises:firstly forming a metal wire layer on one surface of the substrate, andthen forming a dielectric layer on the surface. The dielectric layerpackages the metal wire layer. Alternatively, first forming a dielectriclayer; then performing processes such as etching and filling; afterthat, forming an opening in the dielectric layer, such that theunder-bump metal layer can be prepared. The redistribution layer iscapable of realizing an electric connection leading-out functionprepared by other processes.

In addition, in other examples, the dielectric layers may have two ormore layers, and the metal wire layers may have two or more layers. Forexample, a first insulating layer is formed on the surface of thesubstrate; the metal wire layer is formed on a surface, insulated fromthe substrate, of the first insulating layer; a second insulating layeris formed on the upper surface of the first insulating layer, and thesecond insulating layer completely covers the metal wire layer; anopening is formed in the second insulating layer and the opening exposesthe metal wire layer; and the under-bump metal layer is formed in theopening.

Specifically, the material of the metal wire layer 213 may be, but notlimited to, one of copper, aluminum, nickel, gold, silver and titaniumor a laminated layer formed by more than two of the above material. Thematerial of the dielectric layer 212 may be a low-k dielectric material,in particular, may include any one of epoxy resin, silica gel, PI, PBO,BCB, silica, phosphorus silica glass and fluorine glass.

As an example, the structure of the metal bump 31 comprises: a copperpole, a nickel layer located on an upper surface of the copper pole anda solder bump located on the nickel layer.

Specifically, the metal bump 31 may be a metal pole, a solder ball, or acombination of a copper pole and a solder metal, etc. In thisembodiment, a metal bump 31 is provided, and a preparation methodcomprises: fabricating an under-bump metal layer on the redistributionlayer; forming a copper pole on the surface of the under-bump metallayer; forming a metal barrier layer on the surface of the copper pole;forming a solder metal on the surface of the metal barrier layer, andforming a solder bump on the surface of the metal barrier layer byadopting a high-temperature reflow process.

Herein, the metal barrier layer comprises a nickel layer, and thematerial of the solder bump comprises one of lead, tin and silver or analloy containing any one of the above-mentioned solder metals.

As an example, the antenna module 61 comprises a plurality of antennaunits 611 and each antenna unit 611 has the same outer contour.

Specifically, the antenna module 61 comprises at least one antenna unit611, which may be in block or spiral shape, and of course, the number ofthe antenna units 611 may be multiple, such as 10 to 100, depending onactual needs. When the number of the antenna units is greater than two,the shapes of different antenna units 611 may be the same or different.In addition, when the antenna unit 611 is a block antenna, the blockantenna can be a metal block; and when the antenna unit 611 is a spiralantenna, the spiral antenna may be formed by winding the metal wire intoa spiral shape. Preferably, the antenna units have the same outercontour, such that uniform control can be realized which will facilitatea reasonable layout according to actual needs.

In addition, the material of the antenna unit includes, but not limitedto, any one of copper, aluminum, nickel, gold, silver, tin and titanium,or a laminated material layer consisting of two or more of theabove-mentioned material layers, which may be prepared by adopting anyone of physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD),sputtering, electroplating, and electroless plating.

As an example, the antenna units 611 are arranged in an array, arrangedin a ring shape or irregularly spacing arranged on the second surface112 of the substrate 11.

As an example, the antenna units 611 are arranged in a hexagonalhoneycomb on the second surface 112 of the substrate 11, and a gapexists between any adjacent antenna units 611.

As an example, the shape of each antenna unit 611, on the surface of thesubstrate 11, is a regular hexagon.

Specifically, a layout of the antenna units 611 is disclosed in thisexample. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the antenna units are evenly arrangedand arranged in a hexagonal honeycomb shape, and a gap exists betweenthe antenna units 611. The process for this design method is simple, theantenna units with the same outer contour do not need any otheradditional processes, it is suitable for mass production, the antennasignal is uniform and the loss is small. In addition, the gap betweenadjacent antenna units is set in actual conditions. For example, in theplane where the surface of the substrate is located, the distancebetween the centers of adjacent antenna units may be arbitrarily setalong the longitudinal direction or the horizontal directionperpendicular thereto, and the size of each antenna unit may bearbitrarily selected.

Of course, the arrangement of the antenna units may be configuredaccording to needs, denser antenna units may be set at the desiredposition, the antenna units may be irregularly arranged, and no specificlimitations are made here.

As an example, the antenna module 61 comprises at least two layers ofantenna module unit, and each antenna module unit layer comprises atleast one antenna unit 611.

Specifically, the antenna module 61 may be formed by a plurality ofantenna units 611 arranged in a single layer on the second surface 112of the substrate 11, or, of course, arranged in a plurality of layers,which comprises two or more antenna unit layers, and then, design ofantenna units in a reasonable number and shape is performed on eachantenna unit layer, wherein adjacent two antenna unit layers areseparated by a dielectric layer, and the electric connection between thedifferent layers is realized by a conductive plug formed in thedielectric layer, such that flexible antenna layout design can beperformed according to the specific needs.

To sum up, the present disclosure provides a semiconductor packagingstructure having an antenna module, comprising: a substrate having afirst surface and a second surface which are opposite to each other; aredistribution layer located on the first surface of the substrate; ametal bump located on one side, insulated from the substrate, of theredistribution layer, and electrically connected with the redistributionlayer; a semiconductor chip located on a surface of one side, insulatedfrom the substrate, of the redistribution layer, and electricallyconnected with the redistribution layer, wherein a spacing is betweenthe semiconductor chip and the metal bump; and an antenna module locatedon the second surface of the substrate. By adopting the above-mentionedsolution, the antenna module and the redistribution layer are providedon two opposite surfaces of the substrate, so that the semiconductorstructure having the antenna module provided by the present disclosurehas a reasonable packaging layout design; since substrate made of quartzglass has good heat conductivity (about 1.46 for quartz vs 0.2 forplastic), which is about ten times better than that of the plasticpackaging material, the problem of heat effect is improved; since thequartz sheet has little warping problem, the chip is further preventedfrom being easily warped and broken in the subsequent process, themanufacturing is facilitated, and the yield is improved; and thestructure provided by the present disclosure is simple, the cost is low,thus it is suitable for mass production. Therefore, the presentdisclosure effectively overcomes various disadvantages in the prior artand thus has a great industrial utilization value.

The above-mentioned embodiments are only used for exemplarily describingthe principle and effects of the present disclosure instead of limitingthe present disclosure. One skilled in the art may make modifications orchanges to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, all equivalentmodifications or changes made by those who have common knowledge in theart without departing from the spirit and technical thought disclosed bythe present disclosure shall be still covered by the claims of thepresent disclosure.

1. A semiconductor packaging structure having an antenna module,comprising: a substrate having a first surface and a second surfaceopposite to the first surface; a redistribution layer located on thefirst surface of the substrate; a metal bump located on theredistribution layer, and electrically connected with the redistributionlayer; a semiconductor chip disposed on and electrically connected withthe redistribution layer, wherein a spacing is configured between thesemiconductor chip and the metal bump; and an antenna module located onthe second surface of the substrate.
 2. The semiconductor packagingstructure having the antenna module according to claim 1, characterizedin that the semiconductor packaging structure further comprises anunderfill layer, and the underfill layer fully fills a gap between thesemiconductor chip and the redistribution layer.
 3. The semiconductorpackaging structure having the antenna module according to claim 1,characterized in that the substrate comprises a quartz glass substrateor a sapphire substrate.
 4. The semiconductor packaging structure havingthe antenna module according to claim 1, characterized in that theredistribution layer comprises: a dielectric layer bonded to the firstsurface of the substrate; one metal wire layer located inside thedielectric layer; and an under-bump metal layer located on thedielectric layer, extending to the inside of the dielectric layer andelectrically connected with the metal wire layer, wherein the metal bumpis provided on the under-bump metal layer.
 5. The semiconductorpackaging structure having the antenna module according to claim 1,characterized in that the metal bump comprises: a copper pole, a nickellayer located on an upper surface of the copper pole and a solder bumplocated on the nickel layer.
 6. The semiconductor packaging structurehaving the antenna module according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe antenna module comprises a plurality of antenna units and eachantenna unit has a same outer contour.
 7. The semiconductor packagingstructure having the antenna module according to claim 6, characterizedin that the antenna units are arranged in an array or in a ring shape.8. The semiconductor packaging structure having the antenna moduleaccording to claim 6, characterized in that the antenna units arearranged irregularly on the second surface of the substrate.
 9. Thesemiconductor packaging structure having the antenna module according toclaim 6, characterized in that the antenna units are arranged in ahexagonal honeycomb shape on the second surface of the substrate, andeach of the antenna units is disposed with a space from adjacent antennaunits.
 10. The semiconductor packaging structure having the antennamodule according to claim 9, characterized in that the shape of thecross section the antenna units comprises a hexagonal shape.
 11. Thesemiconductor packaging structure having the antenna module according toclaim 6, characterized in that the antenna module comprises at least twolayers of antenna module units, and each layer of the antenna moduleunits at least comprises one antenna unit.